The Reel Bible

The Reel Bible

How often have you admitted, "I liked the movie, but the book was better"? In the case of movies based on the Bible, the Book is definitely superior, although some truly superb films have been based on the Bible, doing credit not only to the art of filmmaking but to the Bible itself. So grab some popcorn and get your mental projector running as you work through these (mostly) easy questions about films based on the Word.

1. The 2006 movie One Night with the King was based on which Old Testament book?
   
2. Two classic movies about Jesus have had the title King of Kings. Which New Testament book refers to Christ as "King of Kings and Lord of Lords"?
   
3. What infamous number from the Book of Revelation was used in advertising the 1976 and 2006 horror movies The Omen?
   
4. What enormously popular film of 1959 had the subtitle A Tale of the Christ?
   
5. The Green Pastures, a 1936 movie retelling stories from the Old Testament, takes its name from which book?
   
6. The 1996 film The Bible … In the Beginning is based on the first 22 chapters of what book of the Bible?
   
7. Blond Swedish actor Max von Sydow played Jesus in what three-hour-long film of 1965? (Hint: long title too!)
   
8. Director Cecil B. DeMille gave the Book of Judges credit for the success of which of his films?
   
9. What beloved Hollywood classic was partly filmed on Mount Sinai in Egypt?
   
10. What movie, based on a popular play, billed itself as "a musical based on the Gospel According to St. Matthew"?

Bonus Puzzler

1. What country music legend made and starred in the film The Gospel Road?

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J. Stephen Lang is the author of 20 books about the Bible, including the recent The Bible on the Big Screen (Baker) and The Big Book of Bible Bloopers (Harvest House).

Copyright © 2007 by the author or Christianity Today/Today's Christian magazine.
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